In this section

RUSHBURY

Until 1883 Rushbury parish comprised 4,808
a. (1,946 ha.). (fn. 1) It contained the townships of
Rushbury, Stone Acton, Wall under Heywood,
and Wilderhope and Stanway (including Lutwyche). It also included part of East Wall (the rest
being in a detached part of Eaton-under-Heywood parish), and most (647 a., 262 ha.) of
Gretton township, the remainder (161 a., 65 ha.)
being in Cardington parish. The Rushbury part
of Gretton included 176 a. in detached portions,
once commons, at the Gilberries and west of
Wall under Heywood. (fn. 2)

If suggestions made about the late definition
of Cardington parish (fn. 3) are correct, the parish
centred on Rushbury in Anglo-Saxon times (fn. 4)
may have been larger than it was later in the
Middle Ages: if Rushbury did lose territory, at
least some of the loss was probably in the north,
where Gretton township lay across the medieval
boundary between Cardington and Rushbury
parishes. (fn. 5) Whenever it was that Rushbury parish bounds were defined, in woodland areas there
may have been no precise boundary for centuries. On the east, where a wooded ridge divides
Lutwyche, Wilderhope, and Stanway from
Shipton parish, the boundary was probably
defined in the earlier 16th century, (fn. 6) though it is
there that an Iron Age hill fort, (fn. 7) above Lutwyche on one of several knolls along the limestone
ridge, stands athwart the parish boundary; ¾ km.
to the south-west the boundary touches another
prehistoric, or Roman, enclosure. (fn. 8)

In 1883 the civil parish was enlarged by the
transfer to it of the detached part of Eaton-under-Heywood parish: Longville and Lushcott
townships and part of East Wall. (fn. 9) In 1967 the
greater part of Gretton township in Rushbury
C.P. and land at Hill End were transferred to
Cardington C.P. At the same time boundary
adjustments added small areas, anciently parts
of Eaton-under-Heywood and Munslow parishes, to Rushbury C.P. (fn. 10) This article deals with
the parish as it was in the 1830s and with the
whole of Gretton township.

The settlements at Gretton and Stone Acton
stand on high land flanking the hills of Cardington parish. Rushbury, Wall under Heywood,
and East Wall all lie near the top of Ape Dale,
which drains south-west across the parish;
Rushbury forms an 'island' of higher ground in
the Dale, and all the settlements north-west of
Wenlock Edge except East Wall stand on prominences. East Wall is in the valley of Lakehouse
brook. The Dale's south-eastern edge is formed
by the limestone scarp of Wenlock Edge, which
rises steeply to c. 270 m. at the top of Roman
Bank and to the north-east marks the boundary
between Rushbury parish and the detachment
of Eaton-under-Heywood. The dip slope of
Wenlock Edge falls into the shallow Hope Dale
containing Wilderhope and Stanway. On the far
side of Hope Dale the ground rises to a further
ridge, of Aymestry limestone, mostly wooded
towards the top and up to the parish boundary;
it forms the north-western edge of Corve Dale.
Lutwyche is at the head of the valley known in
the 18th century as Knaves Dale, also contained
by Wenlock Edge and the parallel Aymestry
limestone ridge but descending north-east into
Easthope. (fn. 11) High ground also dominates the
north-western part of Rushbury parish, Stone
Acton lying towards the eastern end of the group
of hills including Cardington, Willstone, and
Hope Bowdler hills. There the geological picture
is complex, but prominent are Uriconian Andesites as well as igneous Quartz-porphyry at
Stone Acton hamlet. (fn. 12)

The parish's main watercourse, running down
Ape Dale, was known in the later Middle Ages as
Strebrook (fn. 13) or Stradbrook (fn. 14) but in the 20th century as Lakehouse brook above Rushbury, Eaton
brook lower down. (fn. 15) Heath brook and Coley
brook, so known by 1833, drain south into it after
the deflection of their courses around opposite
ends of the prominence on which Rushbury village
stands; (fn. 16) the former was perhaps known as Hordersleys brook in 1594. (fn. 17) Streams flow down Hope
Dale past Wilderhope and the Stanways, uniting
as Stanway brook (fn. 18) to flow south into Corve Dale.
Another, probably the 14th-century Long brook, (fn. 19)
rises south of Lutwyche Hall and flows north-east
into Easthope parish.

Two of the parish place names include the
tun element: Gretton, the gravelly settlement,
and Stone Acton, the oak settlement called
stony. (fn. 20) No early fortification is known in Rushbury township, and its name may mean the rush
manor. Wall under Heywood and East Wall
may derive from OE. waella (spring). Stanway
is stone way and Wilderhope probably
Wilthryth's valley. Lutwyche, the most problematical name, may refer to a nearby salt spring
in Church Preen. (fn. 21)

Most of the roads may be assumed to be
medieval, and a few are documented. The principal route was the 'great road' from Church
Stretton to Bridgnorth, which ran through Wall
under Heywood and crossed Hope Dale between
Wilderhope and Lutwyche. (fn. 22) In the later 18th
century, when Lutwyche was inclosed, it was
straightened there; called Pilgrim Lane c. 1833,
it ceased to be a public road in the 20th century. (fn. 23)
The green way from Lutwyche to Larden, recorded in 1245, (fn. 24) was presumably the first part
of the Larden-Plaish road mentioned in 1338. (fn. 25)
The road from Stone Acton to Cardington was
recorded in 1317. (fn. 26) The road south-east from
Rushbury village over Wenlock Edge was known
in 1580 as Rowman Lane. (fn. 27) There is no reason
to think it Roman, nor need the road past
Stanway or the packhorse bridge over Eaton
brook on the way from Rushbury to Eaton be so
considered. (fn. 28)

In 1765, as part of the Much Wenlock turnpike improvements, the road from Much
Wenlock to Church Stretton via Wall under
Heywood and the road south from Wall under
Heywood via Rushbury to Blackwood limeworks
were turnpiked. (fn. 29) As part of the latter work the
bridge across Eaton brook was rebuilt in 1766. (fn. 30)
A tollgate stood just north of the bridge. (fn. 31) Both
roads were disturnpiked in 1875. (fn. 32) The road from
Marshbrook via Ticklerton to Wall Bank was
turnpiked under an Act of 1822 (fn. 33) and disturnpiked in 1878. (fn. 34) New roads were laid out in 1806
when Gretton common and Wall's Bank were
inclosed. (fn. 35)

The Wenlock Railway Co.'s line from Buildwas to Craven Arms, opened in 1867, ran across
the parish beneath the scarp of Wenlock Edge.
Rushbury station, south of the village, was open
1867-1951. (fn. 36)

Local prehistoric activity is attested by various Neolithic and later finds, (fn. 37) occupation sites, (fn. 38)
and perhaps a barrow. (fn. 39) The possible barrow lay
near the most impressive monument in the
parish, an Iron Age hill fort overlooking Hope
Dale called the Ditches or Larden Ditches. (fn. 40)

RUSHBURY AND PART OF EATON - UNDER - HEYWOOD c. 1840

Identification of Rushbury as the Antonine
Itinerary's Branogenium may be discounted, (fn. 41)
but evidence of Roman occupation has been
found near the church. (fn. 42) A low motte, presumably Norman, stands at the north end of
Rushbury village. (fn. 43)

The two larger Domesday manors and their
recorded populations, Rushbury 10 and Stanway 8, evidently subsumed more than one
settlement. Gretton's recorded population was
5, Lutwyche's 4. (fn. 44) Twenty-three paid to the
1327 subsidy from Rushbury parish, including
four from Gretton township. (fn. 45) Thirty-five men
from Rushbury were mustered in 1542 and six
from Stone Acton. (fn. 46) In 1608, apart from the
chief house, there were probably four houses in
Coats manor, which was between Rushbury and
East Wall. (fn. 47) They were apparently included c.
1644 in 12 properties returned under the heading
Rushbury; the same list gives 12 for Gretton, c.
9 for Wall under Heywood, 9 for Stone Acton,
9 for East Wall, and 5 for Stanway. (fn. 48) In 1672
hearth tax was paid on 11 houses in Rushbury,
16 in Gretton, 11 in Wall under Heywood, 8 in
Stone Acton, 3 in East Wall, and 6 in Stanway
and Wilderhope. (fn. 49) In 1676 there were 177 adults
in the parish. (fn. 50)

The parish population rose from 356 in 1801
to 507 in 1831. It remained at about that level
until the civil parish was enlarged in 1883;
thereafter the C.P.'s population was c. 550.
Although in 1951 it fell to 466, it rose again to
589 by 1961. (fn. 51) After the C.P. was reduced in area
in 1967 (fn. 52) its population averaged c. 470. (fn. 53)

By the late 17th century cottages were beginning to encroach on the commons. The Benthalls
(later Hargrove farm) was established in the
western part of Hargrove by 1590. (fn. 54) A cottage
had been built in Roman wood before 1602, (fn. 55)
while c. 1650 there were seven cottages in or near
Musegreave. (fn. 56) During the 17th, 18th, and earlier
19th centuries numerous cottages were built on
Gretton common, Wall's Bank, Rushbury heath,
Roman Bank, and Blackwood. (fn. 57)

Both cottages and farmhouses were timber
framed in the 16th and 17th centuries, with
rubble stone chimneys. Among larger examples
of timber framed houses are the Coats (fn. 58) and Hall
Farm, Wall under Heywood, both 15th-century.
Hall Farm is a small H plan house of two storeys,
with a cruck framed hall and box framed cross
wings; originally timber framed on stone, the
house was largely cased in brick in the mid 18th
century. Seventeenth-century wall paintings,
comprising geometric designs and inscriptions,
were recorded during building works of the
1970s. (fn. 59) Rushbury Manor is late 16th- or early
17th-century, (fn. 60) and Church Farm, Rushbury, (fn. 61)
and the L plan Malt House Farm, Wall under
Heywood, (fn. 62) are early 17th-century. The last
mentioned, unusually, is partly cased in stone.
Of the two greater houses built in the late 16th
century, Lutwyche Hall is of brick, Wilderhope
Manor of coursed stone. (fn. 63) Before it became
common (in the railway age) brick was also used
in the Wilderhope Manor stables, perhaps 17thcentury, at Wall under Heywood to refront Hall
Farm and for Lutwyche House (the former
Lutwyche Arms public house) in the mid 18th
century, for Stanway Manor Farm in the late
18th or early 19th century, and for the new
Manor Farm north-east of Rushbury in the early
19th century. (fn. 64) Stone, however, was also used.
The early 18th-century Upper Farm, Gretton,
is of stone, (fn. 65) and at Wall under Heywood Stone
House, c. 1800, is of coursed and squared stone (fn. 66)
and Wall House, about the same date, (fn. 67) is stuccoed stone. Of the later brick buildings the most
notable is Stanway Manor, built in 1863 for
William Horton, a retired colliery owner and
architect, of Darlaston (Staffs.). (fn. 68)

Rushbury village, in 1840 a small settlement
away from major roads, did not grow in the next
century and a half. The dozen or so dwellings
around the castle mound and the church display
a variety of timber framing, stone, and brick,
and the village was made a conservation area in
1986. (fn. 69)

After 1945 Wall under Heywood, on a more
important road than Rushbury, slowly grew
from a hamlet into a small village, albeit one
without amenities beyond a garage (a former
traction engine depot), (fn. 70) sub-post office, and
public house. A wooden parish hall at Wall
under Heywood had opened c. 1930. (fn. 71) Ten
council houses were built there c. 1950 (fn. 72) and
later a number of private houses.

Rushbury wake was held on the Sunday after
the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul; it may latterly
have been held at Wall under Heywood, where
there was a wake until c. 1920. (fn. 73) Alesellers were
licensed in the 17th and 18th centuries at Rushbury and Wall under Heywood. (fn. 74) There was
only one alehouse in the parish in 1793, (fn. 75) but
soon after that two public houses were opened
at Wall under Heywood: the New Inn (so known
in the 1830s and 1840s) had become the Lutwyche Arms by 1851 and closed in the 1920s; the
Plough remained open. (fn. 76) Stoolball was played in
the early 17th century (fn. 77) and there is said once to
have been a cockpit at Upper Stanway. (fn. 78)

About 1892 the former almshouses in Rushbury were converted to a reading and recreation
room. It was used by local clubs and contained
a library (fn. 79) but had closed by 1956. (fn. 80)

Rushbury and Eaton-under-Heywood had an
Association for the Prosecution of Felons in
1827, subscriptions being based on the poor
rate. (fn. 81)

The novelist Stella Benson (1892-1933) was
born at Lutwyche Hall. (fn. 82)

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

Alwine
(Aelwin), a free man, held RUSHBURY in
1066. In 1086 Roger of Montgomery, earl of
Shrewsbury, held Rushbury in chief and Roger
de Lacy held it of him. (fn. 83) Earl Roger's son Robert
of Bellême forfeited the lordship in 1102, (fn. 84) and
the Lacys' estate became a tenancy in chief that
descended to their coheirs (fn. 85) the Verduns, overlords until at least 1335, (fn. 86) and the Mortimers.
By 1348, however, Roger de Mortimer (restored
as earl of March 1354) (fn. 87) held the whole of
Rushbury, (fn. 88) and the overlordship remained with
the earldom of March at least until 1425, when
the last Mortimer earl died leaving Richard,
duke of York, as his heir. (fn. 89) In 1455 the manor
was said to be held of the heir of Edward
Russell (fn. 90) and in 1465 and 1467 of Edmund
Russell, (fn. 91) possibly under a trust created by an
earlier duke of York. (fn. 92)

In 1086 Otes of Bernières (fl. 1121) held 5
hides in Rushbury under Roger de Lacy. (fn. 93) In
1200 Otes's great-grandson Herbert of Rushbury was lord. He died without issue 1209 ×
1221 (fn. 94) and by 1242 the manor, held as 1 knight's
fee, was divided between his sister Parnel, wife
of Warner of Willey (d. by 1231), (fn. 95) and Stephen
of Bitterley (alias de Scotot or Esketot), grandson of his other sister. (fn. 96) In the royal inquiry of
1255 the jurors returned verdicts on Wall under
Heywood and West Wall distinct from that on
Rushbury. Nevertheless West Wall seems to
have been identical with Wall under Heywood
and was then part of Rushbury manor. (fn. 97) In 1255
Stephen of Bitterley held half of the manor and
Parnel's grandson Andrew of Willey the other
half, though part of Andrew's inheritance was
held in dower by his mother Burga and the rest,
by reason of his minority, was in the hands of
Margery de Lacy, who had inherited a moiety
of the overlordship and carried it to her husband
John de Verdun. (fn. 98)

Parnel of Willey's moiety descended with
Willey: in 1302 Richard of Harley and his wife
Burga of Willey held it, and by 1318 Burga held
it in her widowhood. The two moieties, each ½
knight's fee, were probably reunited c. 1340 to
be held as 1 knight's fee by the Burnells' heirs. (fn. 99)

Stephen of Bitterley was lord of the other
moiety until 1274 or later, and in 1283 Roger of
Bitterley sold it to Hugh Burnell (d. 1286), (fn. 100)
whose son Philip died in 1294. During part of
the minority of Philip's son Edward custody of
his moiety was given to Guncelin of Badlesmere
(d. 1301). (fn. 101) Edward Burnell had livery of his
lands in 1307 (fn. 102) and his moiety then, and the
whole manor from c. 1340, descended with
Acton Burnell until 1485. (fn. 103)

On the attainder of Francis, Viscount Lovel,
in 1485 the manor was forfeited to the Crown. (fn. 104)
In 1488 Henry VII granted it in tail male to his
uncle and councillor John, Viscount Welles
(d.s.p. 1499), (fn. 105) but by 1497 it seems to have
belonged to Henry, duke of York, (fn. 106) who as
Henry VIII in 1514 granted Rushbury in tail
male to Thomas Howard, newly created duke of
Norfolk (d. 1524). 79 In 1533 Norfolk's son and
heir Thomas (fn. 107) exchanged Rushbury and other
manors for estates in Surrey and Sussex with Sir
John Dudley, (fn. 108) later Lord Lisle and earl of
Warwick. (fn. 109) In 1549 Warwick exchanged Rushbury with Nicholas Heath, bishop of Worcester,
in right of his see, (fn. 110) and the freehold and inheritance of the manorial rights then descended with
those of Holdgate until 1861. (fn. 111)

In 1548 Warwick had leased Rushbury and
other properties to Bishop Heath's brother William for 200 years. Heath assigned his lease in
1552 to Henry Cressett (d. 1563), who left his
interest to his nephew Richard Cressett (d. 1601)
of Upton Cressett. Richard in turn left the
property to Edward, grandson of Thomas
Cressett of the Coates (in Holdgate), and thereafter, until 1861, the lease descended with
Cound manor. In 1861 the lessee, the Revd.
Henry Thursby-Pelham, bought the freehold
from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. (fn. 112)

Thursby-Pelham sold the manor, probably to
the Staffordshire ironmaster W. H. Sparrow (d.
1867), whose son Arthur, of Church Preen,
owned it in 1868. (fn. 113) On Arthur's death in 1898
the manor passed to his youngest son A. B. H.
Sparrow (from 1899 Hanbury-Sparrow) who
died in 1936 leaving it to his son Lt.-Col. A. A.
H. Hanbury-Sparrow (fl. 1952). (fn. 114) By 1949 C. E.
Edwards owned the major portion of the Sparrows' former Rushbury estate, which he was
then, and in 1951, offering for sale. (fn. 115)

Rushbury castle, represented by remains of
the motte and its surrounding ditch, (fn. 116) was
presumably the manor house in the early Middle Ages. The adjacent Rushbury Manor is a
late 16th- or early 17th- century timber framed
house of two storeys and an attic, with three
front and two rear gables. The building and
its yards were occupied with Church Yard
farm in the mid 19th century; apparently divided into three about then, it was restored as
one house c. 1966. (fn. 117)

After the reunion of the moieties of Rushbury
manor c. 1340 some interest in Wall under Heywood
was apparently retained by the Harleys' heirs, for in
1540 land there was held of Richard Lacon by the
Gowers of Stone Acton. (fn. 118) In 1613 WALL UNDER
HEYWOOD was one of several manors or reputed
manors mortgaged by Sir Francis Lacon, and in 1616
property there was among that which, with his
son Rowland, he sold to Isaac Jones and Richard
Newell. Jones's brother Edward sold what was
probably all his property in Wall under Heywood in
1636. It belonged to the Baldwins of All Stretton
1636-1722 and in 1770 was bought by Elizabeth
Cressett, lady of Rushbury. (fn. 119)

In 1495-6 Wenlock priory kitchen received 8s.
from the tithes of Wall under Heywood, (fn. 120) but
nothing more is known of the property.

The duke of Norfolk may have retained land
in Rushbury after 1533 for in 1574 (after his
grandson's forfeiture) the Crown granted a 21year lease of lands in Rushbury and Chatwall (in
Cardington), lately the executed duke's, to
Henry Myddelmore, a courtier. (fn. 121) The later history of the property has not been traced.

By 1587 the Lees of Langley had land in
Rushbury. (fn. 122) The property descended with Acton Burnell manor (fn. 123) until 1824 when Sir Edward
Joseph Smythe sold RUSHBURY FARM
(later Manor farm) to Barnard Dickinson (d.
1852), manager of the Coalbrookdale Co.'s
works. (fn. 124) By 1868, with CHURCH YARD
FARM (evidently acquired from the ThursbyPelhams with the manor), it was part of Arthur
Sparrow's 438-a. estate in Rushbury. (fn. 125) The estate belonged to the Sparrows until 1948 and
then changed hands more than once before
Richard Minton bought it in 1953. (fn. 126) The 17thcentury Church (formerly Church Yard) Farm,
north-east of the church, (fn. 127) is a T plan building of
two storeys, timber framed with stone gable
ends. (fn. 128)

Francis Leigh (d. 1710), of Puttenham
(Surr.), owned property in Rushbury by 1683,
and it passed to his daughter and son-in-law
Frances and Jasper Jones. (fn. 129)

The Leightons of Plaish had property in Wall
under Heywood and East Wall in the earlier 17th
century. (fn. 130)

Rushbury manor included land in EAST
WALL that was subinfeudated in the mid 12th
century to Basile (or Sibyl), possibly a relative
of Otes of Bernières, the Domesday lord of
Rushbury. Basile (d. before 1165) was succeeded
by her daughter Eve, who married first Robert
of Brimpton, alias of Longford (d. by 1185), and
secondly Walter de Witefeld (fl. 1200). The
estate passed to Eve's son Adam of Brimpton (d.
c. 1235), who was succeeded by another Adam. (fn. 131)
The Brimptons' mesne lordship may have lapsed
in the next century, for by 1436 Sir John Radcliffe (d. 1441) was lord, presumably in right of
his wife Catherine (d. 1452), lady of Rushbury
manor. (fn. 132)

By 1255 East Wall had been further subinfeudated to the Sprenchoses of Longnor, (fn. 133) and the
following Sprenchoses held it: Roger, who held
1 hide there in 1255; (fn. 134) Roger, fl. c. 1316, (fn. 135) and Sir
John, fl. 1348-1350. (fn. 136) The family apparently
retained some interest in East Wall in 1483 when
John and Maud Sprenchose sold property there
to John de Betenhull, clerk. (fn. 137)

Lawrence Ludlow held courts for East Wall
in 1505 and 1507, (fn. 138) and thenceforward the
manor descended with the Moorhouse (in Shipton), being sold in 1721 with a share of the
Moorhouse by kinsmen of the Ludlows to Samuel Edwards (d. 1738) of West Coppice,
described as lord of East Wall in 1733. (fn. 139) About
1745 Edwards's trustees sold East Wall manor
and 227 a. there to William Beresford. (fn. 140) In 1748
Beresford sold it to Godfrey Kneller (d. 1781),
of Donhead Hall (Wilts.). (fn. 141) By 1775 Charles
Maverley (d. by 1795), of Gray's Inn, was lord. (fn. 142)

In 1808 Sarah Wildman, of Turnham Green
(Mdx.), sold the manor and 242 a. to Thomas
Gibbons of Eudon Burnell, (fn. 143) who in 1840 had
248 a. in the Rushbury portion of East Wall. (fn. 144)
John Gibbons farmed at East Wall in 1856. (fn. 145)
Abraham Haworth, a cotton merchant who
owned 731 a. in all at East Wall, had the farm
in 1910. (fn. 146) Sold with the rest of Haworth's estate
in 1925, the farm changed hands several times
before being bought in 1947 by the Taylors,
owners in 1990. (fn. 147)

Manor Farm, presumably the house at East
Wall taxed on four hearths in 1672, (fn. 148) has a
17th-century core. Refurbished and cased in
brick in the mid 18th century, it was modernized
again in the mid 19th. Later in the 19th century
it was rebuilt in slightly flamboyant gothic as a
1½ storeyed building.

Sir Thomas Lacon (d. 1536) had an estate in
Rushbury including property at East Wall which
passed to his son Richard (d. 1543). (fn. 149) Richard's
son Rowland (d. 1608) greatly reduced the family's estate in the parish by the sale in 1581 of
Lily wood, south of Rushbury, to Richard
Leighton of Coats. (fn. 150) In 1616 Rowland's son Sir
Francis Lacon sold property, including East
Wall 'manor', to Isaac Jones and Richard Newell; the claim to manorial status, like those the
Lacons advanced in respect of their properties
in Wall under Heywood, Wilderhope, (fn. 151) and
elsewhere, (fn. 152) seems to have been baseless.

From 1616 the Lacons' East Wall property
probably descended with Gretton in the Jones
family. Like Gretton, a property (38 a.) at East
Wall was offered for sale by Sir Thomas John
Tyrwhitt Jones (d. 1839) in 1824. (fn. 153) It may have
failed to sell, for his widow Eliza (d. 1865) had
54 a. at East Wall in 1840. (fn. 154) It was worked from
a cottage south-west of East Wall, which had
been demolished by 1901. (fn. 155)

In 1568 Nicholas Crosthwaite, lord of Easthope, sold a messuage and lands in East Wall to
John Adys of Frampton on Severn (Glos.), who
in 1578 sold it to Edward Lutwyche of Lutwyche. In 1614, when Lutwyche died, the property
was held partly of East Wall manor and partly
of Rushbury manor. (fn. 156) The Lutwyche family
evidently continued to own property in East
Wall until 1785 when East Wall farm (77 a.)
was offered for sale. (fn. 157) It was probably withdrawn from sale and then descended with
Wilderhope. (fn. 158) In 1907 R. B. Benson of Lutwyche
sold a farm at East Wall to Rowland Tench, (fn. 159) who
had apparently sold it to Abraham Haworth
by 1910. (fn. 160) The farm was disposed of with the
rest of Haworth's estate in 1925. (fn. 161) Brook House
Farm, as it was then called, is a small 1½ storeyed
timber framed house of the 17th century, later
extended.

COATS may early have been part of Rushbury manor. (fn. 162) Walter de Witefeld held a freehold
there and at Wall in 1200; it included 20 a. of
pasture and 40 a. of wood, once his mother-inlaw Basile's marriage portion, the status of which
was disputed with Herbert, lord of Rushbury.
A jury found that Walter held that land in
demesne and not of Herbert. (fn. 163)

By 1255 Coats, like East Wall, was held in fee
by the Sprenchose family. They had subinfeudated Coats to tenants who took their name from
it. In 1255 John of Gatacre held Coats as ½ hide
as guardian of the heir of John of Coats. That
heir, John of Coats (fl. 1263), was apparently
succeeded by William of Coats (fl. 1272-92). (fn. 164)
He or a namesake occurred in 1318. (fn. 165) Richard
Smallman (fl. 1379) was lord in 1374. (fn. 166)

Coats was later held by a branch of the
Leightons of Church Stretton. (fn. 167) Edward
Leighton was perhaps succeeded by a son John
(fl. 1487-97), (fn. 168) he by his son Ralph (coroner in
1533), and he, by 1557, (fn. 169) by his son Richard,
perhaps undersheriff 1587-8. (fn. 170) Richard (d. 1605)
left his second son Nicholas as his heir. Dealings
of the eldest son Richard (b. 1562, d.v.p.) led to
litigation over the estate between Nicholas and
his younger brother William, but Nicholas established his title and in 1610 sold Coats and two
mills in Rushbury to Humphrey Lee of Langley. (fn. 171)

By 1678 Sir Francis Edwardes (d. 1690), of
Meole Brace, owned Coats (fn. 172) and his son and
namesake was lord in 1721. (fn. 173) By 1734 Coats (325
a. in 1785) was part of the Lutwyche estate (fn. 174) and
it then appears to have descended with Wilderhope. (fn. 175) R. B. Benson of Lutwyche sold Coats
Hall farm (323 a.) to Abraham Haworth c. 1910 (fn. 176)
and it changed hands several times in the 20th
century. (fn. 177)

The chief house originally stood within a
rectangular moat. The box framed hall of c.
1486, originally c. 30 × 24 ft., was later truncated
and a floor was inserted in it; it retains an
arch-braced central truss and a spere truss. The
screens passage is entered through a 16th-century timber framed porch. A parlour wing
incorporates a kitchen, originally detached. In
the 17th century that wing was much altered and
the hall divided. The whole is now partly cased
in brick. The outbuildings include a fine late
16th-century barn. (fn. 178)

The early manorial connexions of WILDERHOPE are uncertain. (fn. 179) The tenancy in chief, like
that of Rushbury, was evidently divided between
Walter de Lacy's granddaughters and coheirs
Margery de Verdun and Maud de Geneville, but
the shares of their Wilderhope lordship were not
reunited (as those of their Rushbury lordship
were) in the Mortimers' hands. (fn. 180)

Margery's grandson Tibbald de Verdun (d.
1316) had ½ knight's fee in Wilderhope, (fn. 181) at least
part of which had passed by 1335 to one of his
daughters and coheirs Isabel (d. 1349), wife of
Henry, Lord Ferrers (d. 1343). (fn. 182) Their son
William, Lord Ferrers, had all the ½ knight's fee
at his death in 1371. (fn. 183) The same estate passed to
his son Henry, Lord Ferrers of Groby (d. 1388)
and to Henry's son William, Lord Ferrers of
Groby. (fn. 184)

Maud de Geneville's granddaughter Joan,
widow of Roger de Mortimer, earl of March (d.
1330), held lands at Wilderhope in chief at her
death in 1356. (fn. 185) The descent of the shares of the
overlordship of Wilderhope after the 14th century has not been traced, but in 1639 Wilderhope
was said to be held in socage of the heirs of
Richard Harnage. (fn. 186)

Before 1225 the terre tenancy of Wilderhope
manor had belonged to Parnel, sister and heir of
Herbert of Rushbury, and her husband Warner
of Willey. (fn. 187) Their son Andrew of Willey (d.
1265) succeeded to Wilderhope (fn. 188) and Andrew's
daughter and heir Burga of Harley held it in
1283. (fn. 189) Burga had married Richard of Harley,
and Wilderhope manor descended thereafter
with Harley until 1583, (fn. 190) when Rowland Lacon
sold Wilderhope to Thomas Smalman, (fn. 191) a law
yer (fn. 192) whose family probably originated in the
Rushbury area. In 1583 Smalman also bought a
small farm in Wilderhope from Richard Parramore, a London merchant. (fn. 193) The estate then
descended from father to son in the Smalmans,
from Thomas (d. 1590) successively to Stephen
(d. 1635), (fn. 194) Francis (d. 1639), Thomas (d. 1693)
who compounded for the sequestrated estate in
1649, Henry (d. by 1706), and Thomas. (fn. 195)

Thomas Smalman sold Wilderhope to
Thomas Lutwyche in 1734 (fn. 196) and Wilderhope
descended with Lutwyche (fn. 197) until 1785, when it
was the subject of a Chancery suit by William
Lutwyche, illegitimate son of William Lutwyche
(d. 1773) and beneficiary under the wills of two
of his father's three sisters. (fn. 198) Three estates seem
to have been created in the Lutwyche family's
landed property and shares in them passed to
various members of the family. (fn. 199) With the sale
of Lutwyche in 1785 (fn. 200) the estate centred on
Wilderhope. A share went to Mrs. Sarah Winford, the elder William Lutwyche's youngest
sister and possibly his heir at law; (fn. 201) she sold it
to Joseph Harris of Bewdley (Worcs.). (fn. 202) Other
shares went to the younger William Lutwyche
and to his sisters Mrs. Eleanor Mayhew (d. 1832)
and Mrs. Clementina Handasyd (d. 1838), both
latterly of Walcot (Wilts.). Presumably after
their brother's death without issue in 1823 they
added the surname Lutwyche and set up trusts (fn. 203)
under which 1,328 a. (fn. 204) eventually came to Capt.
W. W. T. Bayntun, son of Sir Henry William
Bayntun (d. 1840) and Mrs. Mayhew Lutwyche's daughter Sophia (d. 1830). (fn. 205) Sir H. W.
Bayntun had also acquired Sarah Winford's
share in the estate by devise of Joseph Harris in
1833. Capt. Bayntun (d. unm. 1842) was succeeded by his sister Mrs. C. E. M. Boodé. In
1851 some of Mrs. Boodé's land passed to M.
G. Benson of Lutwyche, perhaps by exchange.
Mrs. Boodé, widowed in 1870, married, probably in 1872, the Baron de Villefranche and died
in 1888 (fn. 206) when Wilderhope passed to her daughter Mrs. C. E. L. Hippisley of Ston Easton
(Som.), the owner in 1903. (fn. 207)

By 1907 Wilderhope belonged to R. B. Benson
of Lutwyche, who sold it that year to T. C.
Williams. (fn. 208) In 1916 Mary Ann Williams, presumably his widow, sold the estate to William
Connell. (fn. 209) Wilderhope Manor was bought from
Connell's widow Emma Lizzie for the National
Trust in 1936 by the Cadbury Trust, which in
1971 also bought the adjacent 216-a. farm from
T. C. P. Connell as an endowment for the Manor
and thereby reunited the estate. (fn. 210)

Francis Smalman built Wilderhope Manor
between 1584 (when his brother Thomas
granted him a 40-year lease of land bought in
1583 from Richard Parramore) or 1591 (when
Thomas's will required all his Wilderhope lands
to be leased to Francis) and perhaps 1593 when
Francis's wife died. (fn. 211)

The house, of six bays and 2½ storeys, faces
south-east (assumed south in the following description) across a shallow valley. (fn. 212) It is of
limestone rubble with quoins, mullions, and
pediments of Hoar Edge grit. The upper parts
of the chimneys and the shafts are of brick, the
former diapered. The roof is of Harnage stone
slates. It was taxed on seven hearths in 1672. (fn. 213)
The hall, presumably with great chamber over,
has a screens passage at its west end entered
through a projecting porch bay. The hall has a
lateral north fireplace and a south-facing oriel at
its west end. Like the porch, the oriel rises the
full height of the house and is gabled. The south
front is generously provided with mullioned and
transomed windows. On the north is a projecting
semicircular staircase turret, and the great chamber did not therefore have to function also as a
first-floor passage room. A secondary newel stair
rises in the angle between porch, screens, and
service bay. The parlour range at the east end of
the house has an east chimney stack and a
projecting north garderobe chute. The service
range at the west end of the house extends back
north of the hall, and its large west chimney stack
suggests that originally its ground floor was
mainly taken up with kitchen rather than pantries.

The parlour and hall are among several rooms
retaining their original moulded plaster ceilings;
devices include Francis and Ellen Smalman's
initials and formerly included the family's arms
and motto. (fn. 214) Some original fireplaces survive.
Perhaps in the 17th century the parlour and
great chamber were subdivided; otherwise alterations have been few. After 1734 the house
probably declined, and it was ruinous and uninhabited by 1936 when renovation began, to make
it into a youth hostel.

North-east of the Manor is a smaller brick
building of two storeys with projecting gabled
end bays, probably built in the 17th century,
perhaps as stables. South-west of the Manor is
Wilderhope Farm, rebuilt in 1936. (fn. 215)

FEGG, a house and 182 a., was owned with
Wilderhope in 1785 (fn. 216) and until 1851 when M.
G. Benson acquired it. (fn. 217) In the late 1930s G. R.
Benson sold it to Mrs. William Connell, whose
family owned it in 1990. (fn. 218) Fegg Farm is a small
17th-century timber framed building with a
brick range of c. 1800.

If, as has been suggested, STONE ACTON
was part of the Domesday manor of Stanway, (fn. 219)
the connexion may have been recent in 1086. To
the west and north the estates in Cardington and
Gretton presumed to have belonged to Warin
the bald (d. c. 1085) almost surrounded Stone
Acton: (fn. 220) Warin may therefore have owned that
too, adding it to his manor of Stanway, on the
opposite side of Rushbury, to compensate for
Stanway's loss of most of Broadstone which
Warin had given to Shrewsbury abbey. (fn. 221)

In the earlier 13th century Philip of Broseley
held Stone Acton. His immediate overlord was
Madoc of Sutton, lord of Stanway c. 1240 when
Philip gave Stone Acton (½ hide) to the Templars of Lydley. (fn. 222) Following the Templars'
suppression in 1308 (fn. 223) Stone Acton passed to the
Hospitallers of Dinmore (Herefs.) and from
them, in 1540, to the Crown. (fn. 224) In 1554, Stone
Acton rents formerly the Hospitallers' were
granted in fee to Sir Edmund Peckham, Thomas
Holmes, and Gilbert Langton. (fn. 225)

In 1570 George, son of Roger Smythe of
Morville, sold the reputed manor of Stone Acton
to Robert Acton of Aldenham. (fn. 226) The next lord
was Robert's son Walter. (fn. 227) Edward Lutwyche (d.
1614) bought the manor from William Tipper
and Robert Dawe in 1601. (fn. 228) His son Edward (d.
1639) left a 40-year interest in the property to
his daughters Elizabeth and Sarah, with remainder to his younger son John. (fn. 229) In 1668 John, of
Stone Acton, sold the manor to his nephew
Edward Lutwyche (kt. 1684, d. 1709). (fn. 230) The
manor then descended with Lutwyche at least
until 1785, when it was among the parts of the
Lutwyche estate offered for sale. The Lutwyches' estate in Stone Acton then comprised
Stone Acton farm (273 a.), to which was attached
a sheep walk of 185 a., probably on Cardington
Hill. (fn. 231)

Richard Jones, gentleman, lived at Stone Acton in 1800; whether as owner or lessee is
unknown, (fn. 232) but in 1802 William Jones was lord
of the manor. (fn. 233) By will of 1868 William Jones,
presumably his son or grandson, left his property in Stone Acton, including the manor, to
John Farmer of Cound, (fn. 234) whose family had it
until 1909. The farm then changed hands several
times before being bought in 1952 by W. S.
Turner, owner in 1990. (fn. 235)

The hall of Stone Acton, sold with the manor
in 1668, (fn. 236) was probably the house of three
hearths occupied in 1672 by John Lutwyche. (fn. 237)
Stone Acton Farm is a mid 19th-century building of brick with stone details and some gothic
elements.

Before they bought Stone Acton manor the
Lutwyches had begun to buy land there. In 1579
Edward Lutwyche bought three messuages
there and at Wall under Heywood from John
Hallywell, (fn. 238) one of those properties having been
bought by Hallywell or his father (also John)
from Joan and Richard Lee in 1546. (fn. 239) Joan was
William Gower's granddaughter and heir. (fn. 240)

The Actons evidently retained some interest
in Stone Acton after 1601 for in 1741 property
there was bought by William Lutwyche from Sir
Richard Acton of Aldenham. (fn. 241) It probably included the Horse Pool House tenement, which
had belonged to George Smythe of Morville in
1568 (fn. 242) and to the Actons by 1691, (fn. 243) and the farm
later known as HILL END, partly in Cardington
parish. The property was presumably sold in
Chancery c. 1785. (fn. 244) Hill End was owned by
Daniel Lowe in 1840, (fn. 245) Thomas Corfield in
1880, (fn. 246) and R. H. Danily in 1910. (fn. 247) In 1691
Horse Pool House was described as a mansion. (fn. 248)
Probably 17th-century, Hill End Farm is a two
bayed timber framed house cased in stone.

Aelfric (Aluric), a free man, held STANWAY in 1066. In 1086 the sheriff Reynold of
Bailleul held it of Earl Roger, the tenant in
chief. (fn. 249) Soon after 1102, when the earl's son
forfeited his English lands, the lordship presumably passed with the rest of Reynold's estates to
Alan son of Flaald, (fn. 250) whose descendants the
FitzAlans, later earls of Arundel, were overlords
as late as 1524. (fn. 251) By 1567 Rowland Hayward (kt.
1570) (fn. 252) was overlord. (fn. 253)

In 1086 Stanway was one of the manors of
Otes of Bernières, (fn. 254) who died some time after
1121. (fn. 255) Otes's great-grandson Herbert of Rushbury (fl. 1200-9) (fn. 256) made a grant, confirmed in
1227, of 'all the land of the two Stanways with
all their appurtenances on Wenlock Edge' to
Henry of Audley. (fn. 257) Before 1240 Audley exchanged Stanway with Madoc of Sutton for a
share of Weston under Redcastle; (fn. 258) in 1255
Madoc was John FitzAlan's tenant in the two
Stanways. (fn. 259) In 1348 Giles Carles held Stanway
as ½ knight's fee, (fn. 260) as did Sir John Winsbury in
1428 and 1431. (fn. 261) Elizabeth Winsbury, perhaps
Sir John's widow, (fn. 262) claimed it c. 1460. (fn. 263) By a
settlement of 1481 the manor of Over and
Nether Stanway was held for life by Sir John
Winsbury's daughter Margaret (d. c. 1499), (fn. 264)
widow of Fulk Sprenchose, with remainder to
her daughter Margery, wife of Richard Lee of
Langley (fn. 265) (d. 1498) (fn. 266) and secondly of William
Leighton. (fn. 267)

Margaret Sprenchose's manor may have been
divided. The 'townships' of Over and Nether
Stanway were later said to have been held (of
the earl of Arundel) by Sir Peter Newton (d.
1524) whose heir was his son Arthur. (fn. 268) By 1529
Over and Nether Stanway had passed to Sir
John Smith, (fn. 269) and his son Thomas seems to have
sold them, as the 'manor' of Over Stanway and
Nether Stanway, to Adam Lutley in 1560. (fn. 270)
William Powlett, who had married Anne, daughter and heir of Sir John Smith's son Edmund,
may have retained some interest in the manor
until 1579 or later. (fn. 271)

Meanwhile, however, part of the manor of
Over and Nether Stanway was said to belong by
1543 to Edward More of Larden; he then settled
it on his son Thomas (d. 1567), who held of
Rowland Hayward. Thomas's heir was his son
Jasper. (fn. 272) Jasper's title was disputed in 1569 by
William Leighton of Plaish, who claimed a
quarter of the manor of Stanway, (fn. 273) presumably
by descent from Margery Leighton, one of Fulk
Sprenchose's coheirs. Margery's coparcenery,
however, was not in Stanway manor (her
mother's inheritance) but in premises in Over
and Nether Stanway that descended with Plaish
manor (her father's). (fn. 274) Leighton relinquished his
claim in 1581 (fn. 275) and Jasper More then sold his
own part of Stanway manor to Adam Lutley (d.
1590). (fn. 276)

The whole manor, sometimes called Over
Stanway (because Nether Stanway's chief house
descended separately), (fn. 277) thereafter descended in
the Lutleys from father to son, the following
being owners: (fn. 278) Adam's son John (d. 1645), (fn. 279)
Adam (d. c. 1678), (fn. 280) Bartholomew (d. 1716), (fn. 281)
Philip (d. 1731), (fn. 282) and Jenkes (d. unmarried
1746). (fn. 283) Three of Jenkes's nephews, John, Richard, and Thomas Barneby, sold the manor in
1797 to William Wainwright (d. 1800). (fn. 284) Richard
Wainwright owned Upper Stanway in 1840 but
later sold it, (fn. 285) and William Horton may have
been the owner by 1863. (fn. 286) It belonged c. 1910
to T. C. Williams. (fn. 287) The manor was offered for
sale in 1933 (fn. 288) but has not been traced further.

Upper Stanway is an 18th-century brick
building, originally of three storeys but later
two. A detached timber framed block was demolished in the 20th century. (fn. 289) In 1863 William
Horton built Stanway Manor on the property as
a gentleman's residence. (fn. 290) From the early 1890s
it was occupied by the railway engineer and
'autocratic ruler' of Crewe, F. W. Webb (d.
1906). (fn. 291)

Robert of Beaumais (d. by 1265) held 2
carucates at Stanway in fee, presumably as tenant of Madoc of Sutton or his successors. The
estate had passed by 1270 to Robert's son Hugh,
who was said in 1271 to hold the manor of
NETHER STANWAY. He conveyed it before
1292 to John of Beaumais, lord of Donington,
after whose death (1305 × 1315) John's younger
son John quitclaimed his rights in Stanway to
the elder son Hugh. (fn. 292) The further descent of
Hugh's Stanway estate has not been traced.

The Lees evidently retained or acquired a
freehold in Nether Stanway after Richard Lee's
death in 1498, for in 1586 Richard Lee of
Langley settled the chief house at Nether Stanway on his sister Jane More for life. (fn. 293) Thomas
Smalman of Wilderhope (d. 1590) bought it, (fn. 294)
and it descended with Wilderhope until 1734
when Wilderhope was sold to Thomas Lutwyche; Lutwyche's son William bought Nether
Stanway c. 1739. (fn. 295) Among the Lutwyches' property offered for sale in 1785 was Stanway farm,
206 a. and woods, (fn. 296) but it was probably withdrawn, for Sarah Winford (née Lutwyche) later
sold her share of it to Joseph Harris. (fn. 297) By 1840
Lower Stanway was part of Sir H. W. Bayntun's
Rushbury estate. (fn. 298) In 1909 the 293-a. property
was owned by the Websters, formerly tenant
farmers there. (fn. 299) It later passed by marriage to
Thomas Marsden, whose family had it until
1973 when the farm was sold to the Radcliffes,
owners in 1990. (fn. 300) Lower Stanway is a large
19th-century brick house.

In the 13th century Walter de Kenigford and
his wife Margaret had an estate in Nether Stanway. It passed from Margaret to their daughter
Alice on her marriage to John Aberd (or Abel).
By 1272 John and Alice were divorced but John
unlawfully retained 1½ virgate, (fn. 301) perhaps including the virgate for which John's daughters sued
Herbert Aberd (or Herbert of Stanway) in 1292
and the half virgate of which they had allegedly
disseised him. (fn. 302) It is possible that Alice Aberd
married secondly a Henry son of John; in 1261
he and his wife Alice sold a half virgate in Nether
Stanway, in her right, to Robert of Beaumais. (fn. 303)

In 1066 Alric and Ottar (Otro), free thegns,
held GRETTON as two separate estates. (fn. 304) In 1086
Earl Roger held the two manors of the king, and
that lordship was forfeited in 1102. (fn. 305) The sheriff
Reynold of Bailleul and one Robert, as mesne
lords, held one each of the manors under Earl
Roger in 1086; both had the same tenant. (fn. 306)
Reynold's overlordship descended to the
FitzAlans. Nothing is known of Robert but his
name, and his interest may have lapsed or been
forfeited to the Crown, possibly to be granted in
the earlier 12th century to Richard of Beaumais. (fn. 307)

The two manors that Otes of Bernières held
of the two mesne lords in 1086 evidently became
one, and it descended until 1616 with Kenley. (fn. 308)
In 1613 Sir Francis Lacon mortgaged it to
Edward Jones and Richard Newell who probably foreclosed in 1616, the manor passing to
Jones's brother Isaac. It probably soon passed
to the family of Isaac's brother Edward, and
thereafter it descended with Wigmore (in Westbury), at least until 1824, when both were offered
for sale. (fn. 309) Still in the 1830s, however, Gretton
belonged to Sir T. J. Tyrwhitt Jones (d. 1839),
whose widow Eliza (d. 1865) later owned it. (fn. 310)
From 1875 or earlier until 1935 or later Gretton
descended with Plaish. (fn. 311)

The court of Gretton, mentioned in 1529, (fn. 312)
presumably stood within the moat that is part of
the extensive earthworks south-east of Gretton
village. (fn. 313) The farmhouse was largely demolished
in the mid 19th century, (fn. 314) and only a pair of mid
or late 16th-century cottages remained, half
derelict, in 1986. (fn. 315)

William Leighton (d. 1607) of Plaish owned
two farms in Gretton in 1602. They passed to
his son Henry, of Habberley, who sold them in
1614. (fn. 316)

In 1318-19 William, lord of Coats, sold land
in THE GILBERRIES to Burga of Harley, lady
of Gretton, and her son Philip. (fn. 317) It descended
with Gretton manor until 1887 or later, but by
1910 belonged to William Robinson. In 1824 the
farm comprised 59 a. (fn. 318) By 1565 there was a house
at the Gilberries occupied by Thomas Ridley,
gentleman; (fn. 319) it was of three bays in 1621 and
there was a 2½ bayed barn. (fn. 320)

BENTHALLS,
mentioned in 1590, (fn. 321) occupied most of Gretton's other large detachment
and descended with Gretton until 1824 or later. (fn. 322)
George and Joseph Chune owned it by 1844 (fn. 323)
when it may already, as later, have been known
as Hargrove farm. (fn. 324) William Hutton of Birmingham owned it in 1910. (fn. 325) In 1621 there was a house
of three bays with 62 a. (fn. 326) Hargrove Farm, the
present house, is 19th-century.

Godwine held LUTWYCHE in 1066. In
1086 Earl Roger held it in chief, but his son
forfeited the lordship in 1102. In 1086 the sheriff
Reynold of Bailleul held Lutwyche of the earl
and Richard held it of Reynold. Richard also
held Brockton (in Shipton and Stanton Long)
under Reynold, (fn. 327) and probably in the 12th century Richard or one of his successors
subinfeudated Lutwyche, for as late as 1639 the
lords of Brockton were mesne lords of Lutwyche. (fn. 328)

Lutwyche was held by a family which took its
name from the place. William of Lutwyche was
lord in 1203. Herbert was probably the next lord
and was succeeded by his son William (fl. 1240-
c. 1265). Thomas may have been next lord. (fn. 329) The
manor was held by men called William 1302-30 (fn. 330)
and in 1366. (fn. 331) Hugh may have been lord before
another William (fl. 1404-18), after whom
Thomas, Richard, Richard, and Richard were
successive lords. (fn. 332) By 1586 the last named had
been succeeded by his son Edward (d. 1614), (fn. 333) a
Chancery cursitor pardoned of treason in 1605.
His son Edward (d. 1639) left a 40-year estate
to his daughters Elizabeth and Sarah with remainder to his grandson and heir Edward
Lutwyche (fn. 334) (kt. 1684), justice of Common Pleas
1685 and chief justice of Chester 1686 (d.
1709). (fn. 335) The next lord was Sir Edward's son
Thomas. In 1734 Thomas was succeeded by his
son William (fn. 336) (sheriff 1750) who died, probably
unmarried and certainly indebted, in 1773, leaving illegitimate issue by Catherine Lane who had
predeceased him. (fn. 337)

William's estate was divided between his three
sisters. Some part, perhaps most or even all, of
the shares of two of them, Elizabeth (d. unmarried 1776) and Anne, Mrs. Fazakerley (d. 1776),
passed to William's illegitimate son William
Lane (from 1776 Lutwyche). (fn. 338) He engaged in a
long (c. 1778-1785) Chancery suit over his father's will with his father's third sister Sarah
Winford (d. 1793), owner of a third of the estate.
As a consequence the Lutwyches' estate was
partly dispersed by sale in 1785. (fn. 339) Lutwyche was
sold in 1785, passing to Bartlet Goodrich, owner
in 1792, (fn. 340) who in turn sold it in 1794 to Thomas
Langton (d. 1805) of Easthope. (fn. 341) Langton's trustees sold Lutwyche in 1807 to the trustees of
Moses Benson (d. 1806), a Liverpool West India
merchant. (fn. 342) Lutwyche then passed from father
to son in the Benson family, successively from
Moses' son Capt. Ralph (d. 1845) to Moses
George (d. 1871), Ralph Augustus (d. 1886), and
Ralph Beaumont (d. 1911). (fn. 343)

In 1910 the Bensons' Lutwyche estate comprised c. 1,306 a., mainly in Lutwyche and
Lushcott. (fn. 344) In 1938 c. 1,277 a. were put up for
sale, (fn. 345) and in 1947 R. B. Benson's son Maj. G.
R. Benson (d. 1961) sold his interest in what
remained of the Lutwyche estate to Accumulated Investments Ltd. of Leicester. (fn. 346) The
manorial rights were perhaps not conveyed with
the estate and so might have passed to G. R.
Benson's son Capt. Ralph Benson (b. 1919). (fn. 347)

The lord's house was mentioned in the 14th
century. (fn. 348) Lutwyche Hall is of two storeys with
attics. It has main elevations of red brick with
black diapering where the original work (allegedly of 1587) survives; the back elevation is of
stone. (fn. 349) The plan was similar to Shipton Hall's:
a short central hall range with symmetrical
gabled cross wings and tower-like features in the
re-entrants. The eastern tower was above a
porch which gave access to a screens passage
behind which there was a stair turret. In 1672
the Hall was taxed on 14 hearths. (fn. 350) In the early
or mid 18th century a brick block of two storeys,
containing at its west end a high quality staircase, was added behind the hall. At the same
time the principal rooms of the old house were
remodelled. The hall lost its screens passage and
was decorated with rococo plasterwork, the
north-east room was panelled to full height, and
the southern rooms in both wings were refitted. (fn. 351)
Later in the century, before 1792, (fn. 352) a long two
storeyed service wing was added against the
north-east corner of the house. In 1851 the
18th-century back block (now gone) was extended and the front was remodelled in a
Jacobean style to a design by S. Pountney
Smith. (fn. 353) He added two storeyed bay windows to
the wings and filled the space between the
re-entrant towers with a three storeyed porch
with first-floor oriel. Between 1878 and 1886 the
front was further raised and remodelled to a
design by Mrs. R. A. Benson's brother F. P.
Cockerell. (fn. 354)

Lutwyche Hall, separated from the estate in
or after 1952, (fn. 355) housed schools during the Second World War and until 1966. (fn. 356) In increasing
disrepair the Hall then passed through a succession of owners before being bought c. 1981 by
Research and Preservation (Historical) Ltd., of
Douglas (I.O.M.), (fn. 357) and restored under the direction of Dr. Roger Pearson, of Washington,
D.C. (fn. 358) In 1989 a fire gutted the east wing and
destroyed seven years' restoration work. (fn. 359)

North-east of the house there is an earlier
18th-century stable block of red brick with a
central carriage arch beneath a large pediment.
A stone temple stood south-west of the house. (fn. 360)

In 1493 an estate in Lutwyche was bought, with
Easthope, by Henry and Nicholas Warley. Nicholas
(d. 1524) was succeeded by his son Bartholomew
(d. 1554), whose property, held of Brockton manor,
was described as a moiety of a capital messuage
called Lutwyche. His heir was his sister Frances,
wife of Nicholas Crosthwaite. In 1566 Nicholas
Crosthwaite and Ralph Warley sold Lutwyche
farm, probably c. 200 a. in Lutwyche and Easthope,
to Edward Lutwyche. Thereafter the property presumably descended with Lutwyche. (fn. 361)

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

Of the four Domesday manors wholly or mainly in the medieval
parish, Rushbury had the most arable land. In
1086 it had two ploughteams in demesne worked
by 4 servi, while 1 villanus, 2 bordars, and 3
radmen worked five more. The Stanway demesne also had two teams worked by 4 servi,
while 3 villani and 1 bordar worked two more.
At Lutwyche 2 oxmen worked a demesne team,
and 1 villanus and 1 bordar had a half team.
Gretton apparently had no demesne land, but 5
villani had 2 teams. Lutwyche was worth 8s. in
1066 and 1086, but the other three manors saw
a considerable fall in value and were waste when
received by their Norman lords. There was room
for three more teams at Stanway, and two more
each at Rushbury and Gretton. (fn. 362)

Expansion of farming throughout the parish
in the 12th century is probably indicated by the
existence of old assarts at Rushbury, Coats, and
Gretton in the mid 13th century. (fn. 363) In Lutwyche
assarting was probably still in progress in the
early 13th century, (fn. 364) and in 1250 Parnel of
Kenley was fined for an assart into the forest at
Wilderhope. (fn. 365) By 1341 there had been a drastic
fall in agricultural production; among the causes
were said to be storm damage to crops, sheep
murrain, and the poverty and departure of tenants. (fn. 366)

Lutwyche had the best recorded open-field
system in the parish, (fn. 367) probably occupying much
of the lower land in the centre of the manor.
Some lay towards Easthope, (fn. 368) and the field
towards Wilderhope was mentioned in the 13th
century (fn. 369) and Stowefield, evidently north of
Fegg and so in the same part of the manor, in
the 14th. (fn. 370) Wilderhope too probably had open
fields, (fn. 371) and at Stanway the Beaumais family had
2 carucates in demesne c. 1270. (fn. 372)

On the north-west side of Wenlock Edge the
medieval open fields are poorly documented. At
Rushbury, where the lord had 3 carucates in
demesne in 1283, (fn. 373) open fields were mentioned
in the 16th century, perhaps near the end of their
existence. (fn. 374) Piecemeal inclosure was then in progress at East Wall and at Stone Acton (fn. 375) where
Nether field was mentioned in 1541 (fn. 376) In 1517
Thomas Lacon was accused of inclosing 20 a. in
Gretton, (fn. 377) much of which township north of the
Cardington-Longville road was open-field land.
Gretton's Upper field probably lay north-west
of the Gretton-Plaish road (and so in Cardington
parish), (fn. 378) and the Lower field south-east of it. (fn. 379) A
third field, 'next Cardington', cannot be more
precisely located. Gretton's Eastern field and
Shirefield, mentioned in 1621, (fn. 380) may represent
fields known earlier by other names. What remained of the open fields must have been inclosed
during the 17th and 18th centuries. Parts of
Gretton's Lower field remained common in 1716 (fn. 381)
but were no longer so c. 1770. (fn. 382) The most systematic inclosure, that of Lutwyche, was probably the
last: a date shortly before 1792 seems likely. (fn. 383)

The parish, especially its higher parts, was well
wooded throughout the Middle Ages. Rushbury
manor's Domesday woodland was enough to fatten 40 swine and there was a falcon's eyrie. Woods
belonging in the 13th century to Gretton, Lutwyche, and Stanway, however, went unrecorded in
1086. (fn. 384)

The parish was in the Long forest and its larger
woods were surveyed in 1235. Mullesgreve and
Oakwood, both south of Gretton, and Stanway
wood, were all said to have been stripped of timber
and underwood c. 1225. In 1286 Rushbury was
among forest parishes from which the Crown
granted timber for Acton Burnell castle. The
parish was disafforested in 1301, and in 1302 and
1318 the Harleys, lords of Gretton, Wilderhope,
and a moiety of Rushbury, were granted free
warren in their demesnes there evidently in amplification of a grant of 1283. (fn. 385)

About 1250 one pig in ten was due to the lord
of Lutwyche for pannage, probably a payment
typical of the area. (fn. 386) About 1300 the basic stint
for ½-virgate holdings in Rushbury was perhaps
seven pigs. (fn. 387) Very large tracts of common adjoined many of the townships in the Middle
Ages. Gretton, for example, intercommoned a
large tract of land to the east and north centred
on Oakwood, curving 4 miles round from Plaish
to Lushcott, Longville, East Wall, and Mullesgreve (fn. 388) and so extending into Cardington and
Eaton-under-Heywood parishes. Hay wood,
west of Rushbury village, lay mainly in Eatonunder-Heywood but part of it extended into the
parish; in 1235 the lord of Rushbury's share was
well kept, with oaks and underwood. (fn. 389) Rushbury, East Wall, Wall under Heywood, and
Gretton all claimed common there, but later
part of Hay wood became a detached part of
Gretton township. (fn. 390) Soon after 1500 c. 100 a.
called Hargreaves was inclosed by a tenant of
Thomas Lacon, lord of Gretton. Commoners
resisted and continued to put cattle into Hargreaves. Nevertheless, although the tenant said
that his inclosure was only for seven years to allow
the spring to regrow, it was never common again.
Mainly a coppice wood in the 18th and 19th
centuries, Hargrove wood survived in the 1980s. (fn. 391)
The rest of Hay wood in Rushbury parish was
known in the 19th century as Gretton common
and Wall's Bank, after the principal commoning
manors. (fn. 392) By then it was largely open common,
probably owing to over-grazing by cattle, sheep,
and horses. (fn. 393) Gretton common and Wall's Bank,
in all c. 150 a., were inclosed in 1806. (fn. 394) The names
of fields west of Rushbury village called Wall's
moor in the 19th century suggest another former
common. (fn. 395)

Mullesgreve and Oakwood, perhaps once contiguous, were connected in 1610 by a track ('out
rake'). It was probably mainly Gretton that
commoned them, although part of Mullesgreve,
known as the High or Rough wood, belonged to
East Wall. About 1610, prompted by other local
woodland inclosures, Gretton's commoners petitioned Sir Francis Lacon to allow the woods'
inclosure. He agreed, and commoners received
a dole in each wood. Not all were immediately
inclosed. About 1659 Francis Ruckley greatly
increased his share of Mullesgreve by exchange,
although his inclosures were soon broken by
associates of George Wilcox, possibly the Gretton manorial bailiff. (fn. 396) Mullesgreve was perhaps
already open waste when inclosed, but Oakwood, albeit shrunken, remained wooded in the
1980s. (fn. 397)

The Gilberries probably originated as detached woodland belonging to Gretton, though
perhaps cleared and inclosed by the end of the
Middle Ages. (fn. 398) Immediately south, and seemingly once part of it, was Rushbury heath,
almost 10 a. of which survived in 1840, though
much encroached upon. Into it ran roads from
Gretton, Wall under Heywood, East Wall, and
Rushbury, all of which may once have had right
of common there, as had the rector in 1580. (fn. 399)
It had been inclosed by 1882. (fn. 400)

In Stone Acton the lord's wood and the
common wood (perhaps one and the same) still
stood in the mid 16th century; goats were kept
there and there was a cockshoot. (fn. 401) That woodland was probably cleared in the following
century. In the 17th century Stone Acton had
waste called the Moor and the Warren, presumably on the hills north and west of the hamlet: (fn. 402)
in 1750 'Stone Acton hills' were common. (fn. 403) In
1775 Manor farm at Stone Acton had a sheep
walk of 184 a. on the adjoining hills. (fn. 404)

In the Middle Ages, Edge wood ran the whole
length of Wenlock Edge, and most townships
within a mile of the scarp foot, and some more
distant ones, had common in it. By the late
Middle Ages each township had a distinct length
of woodland, and often those stretches themselves were subdivided. South of Rushbury
village lay Blackwood, Lilywood, Short wood,
and Roman wood. (fn. 405) People from Gretton were
depasturing and cutting wood in Blackwood in
1465, (fn. 406) and Wilderhope, Fegg, and Stanway
were said to have common there in 1785. (fn. 407)
Rushbury men had common in Roman wood,
later Roman bank, in the 17th century and later.
Roman bank, 37½ a. of open waste in 1840 but
inclosed by 1882, adjoined a stretch of Edge
wood known in the 19th century as Crab wood. (fn. 408)
North-east was Coats wood, and beyond again
what was probably once East Wall's share. (fn. 409)

Stanway, Wilderhope, and Lutwyche each
had woods on the south-east side of Hope Dale.
Stanway's wood, mentioned in the 13th century, (fn. 410) probably lay in Hope Dale and perhaps
included Hope common, although in the early
13th century the two Stanways included appurtenances on Wenlock Edge. (fn. 411) Lightwood, one of
the Stanways' woods in the early 17th century,
lay south of Upper Stanway, adjoining Blackwood. (fn. 412) Lower Stanway lay towards the
south-western corner of a large block of woodland known since the 16th century as Mogg
forest. (fn. 413) By 1530 recognized bounds divided
Mogg forest between the intercommoning
vills, (fn. 414) Stanway, Wilderhope, and Lutwyche.
The woods were partly waste and partly coppiced in the 1580s, Edward Lutwyche having
inclosed his coppice woods within living memory. (fn. 415) In the 19th and 20th centuries the slopes
of Wenlock Edge and Hope Dale remained as
commercial woodland, in the later 20th century
under a mixture of conifers (European and
Japanese larch, Norway and Sitka spruce, Grandis and Douglas firs) and deciduous trees (oak,
ash, poplar, and cherry). (fn. 416)

In the 16th century the usual lease in Gretton was probably for 60 years or two or three
lives, (fn. 417) lengthening in the 17th century (fn. 418) to
99-year chattel leases for three lives. (fn. 419) Chattel
(99-year) leases were granted in Rushbury
manor in the 17th century. (fn. 420) Mid 18th-century
chattel (99-year) leases of Gretton farms for
three lives still exacted hen rents and heriots. (fn. 421)
By the 1770s leases in Gretton were getting
shorter, and by 1793 most farms in the parish
were probably racked. (fn. 422) Farms in Gretton
were generally of c. 45 a. in 1621, (fn. 423)c. 80 a. in
the 1760s; (fn. 424) by 1824 all had been thrown into
two farms, of 335 a. and 222 a. (fn. 425)

In 1793 the neighbourhood was said to be
wet and dirty, with much waste land still
uninclosed. (fn. 426) Cattle rearing was popular and
there was some feeding land. Wheat and oats
were the main crops grown, with a little barley
and turnips. (fn. 427) Labourers received 8d. a day
with meat and drink, and their condition had
evidently worsened in living memory. More
than 80 per cent of the parish's population
barely subsisted on a diet of bread and potatoes. Few kept pigs; none saved: old labourers
who had savings used them to eke out their
wages. Some may still have had the hemp plots
enjoyed by previous generations. (fn. 428)

Cropping patterns were little changed by
1839. (fn. 429) Between the mid 19th century and 1938
the proportion of grassland rose, falling back to
the mid 19th-century level by 1965. Sheep had
long been the main livestock, 5,800 head in 1965.
Only after 1938 did cereal growing begin on any
appreciable scale. Much of the increase was in
barley to feed increasing numbers of dairy cattle. (fn. 430) Notable among the farm buildings is the
model farm with railway built c. 1891 at Upper
Stanway for F. W. Webb. (fn. 431)

In the late 19th and earlier 20th century the
Woolridges of East Wall were steam threshing
contractors. (fn. 432)

In 1086 the only mill recorded was at Rushbury. (fn. 433) There were two water mills, perhaps
under one roof, in 1717 but only one in 1737 and
1741; (fn. 434) it stood south of the village but had gone by
1841. (fn. 435)

There were two water mills at Coats, also perhaps
under one roof, in 1608; (fn. 436) they probably stood west
of Coats. (fn. 437)

There was probably a water mill at Gretton from
1236 or earlier. In the 19th century it stood on Heath
brook south of the village, and it ceased work in
1948. (fn. 438) Another mill, of unknown date, stood southeast of Court House. (fn. 439)

Gilberry pool, part of East Wall manor, was said
c. 1730 to be c. 4 a. and to have held fish worth £100
when last drained. (fn. 440) It disappeared probably in the
early 19th century. (fn. 441)

In 1271 Hugh of Beaumais, lord of Nether
Stanway, was granted a Thursday market and a fair
on the eve and feast of St. Denis (8-9 Oct.). (fn. 442) In
1283 the lord of Rushbury was similarly granted a
Thursday market and a three-day fair on the
eve, feast, and morrow of St. Margaret the
Virgin (19-21 July). (fn. 443) There is no evidence that
either market or fair was ever held.

A tanner lived at Roman Bank in 1602. (fn. 444) An
early 18th-century tannery was perhaps nearby,
in the Lilywood area. (fn. 445)

Bricks were made perhaps by 1607, (fn. 446) and
there was a brickworks east of Hargrove Farm
in the late 19th century. (fn. 447) Lime kilns were noted
from 1703. (fn. 448) In 1785 'a particular sort of stone'
found in Stone Acton was said to be useful in
porcelain manufacture, though it is not certain
that any was got in the township. (fn. 449) At Hill End
there was prospecting for coal in 1914. (fn. 450) Road
stone got there 1939-45 proved unsatisfactory. (fn. 451)

John Moore, an early 19th-century licensee
of the New Inn, Wall under Heywood, made
clocks. (fn. 452)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Rushbury and
'Wall' presented at the court leet of Castle
Holdgate barony in 1537 (fn. 453) but they did suit to
Munslow hundred by 1781. (fn. 454)

Records of Gretton court survive from 1419,
1421, 1436-7, 1441, 1465, 1538, and 1559, and
from the later 18th century to 1817. In 1441 a
great court was held but the business, as usual,
was local and primarily agricultural. A case of
lairwite (fornication) was presented in 1436.
The record of a single 'view of frankpledge', i.e.
great or leet court, that survives for 1538 is
insufficient to assess its character. (fn. 455)

Court records survive from other manors in
the parish: Wilderhope (1441), (fn. 456) East Wall (1502,
1505, 1507), (fn. 457) Stone Acton (1540s and 1550s), (fn. 458)
Lutwyche (1588-9), (fn. 459) and Rushbury (1509 and
early 19th century). (fn. 460) The courts' principal concerns were the transfer of copyholds and
regulation of woods and other commons.

In the 1740s Rushbury contributed to the joint
workhouse at Cleobury Mortimer. (fn. 461) By c. 1784
Thomas Parker was farming the poor; his salary,
unrelated to the number of poor or their needs,
rose from £50 to £80 by 1793. He kept a
workhouse, and some carding and spinning was
done. More children were apprenticed in 1793
than before. (fn. 462) In 1802-3 only out-relief was
given, at a cost of £242; 23 adults and 9 children
received permanent relief, and 10 people occa
sional relief. (fn. 463) Ten years later expenditure and
the number of recipients were c. 10 per cent
higher. (fn. 464) In the 1830s there were 4 cottages for
the poor at Wall Bank. (fn. 465)

Rushbury was in Church Stretton poor-law
union 1836-1930, (fn. 466) highway district 1863-95, (fn. 467)
rural sanitary district 1872-94, and rural district
1894-1934, and in Ludlow R.D. 1934-74 and
South Shropshire district from 1974. (fn. 468)

CHURCH.

The church contains apparently
Saxon fabric (fn. 469) and before the Conquest it may
have served an area larger than the later, medieval, parish. (fn. 470)

The living was a rectory c. 1260 (fn. 471) and has
remained so. The patronage belonged to the lord
of Rushbury manor, (fn. 472) being leased with the
manor 1548-1792. (fn. 473) A grant of the advowson to
Buildwas abbey, proposed in 1406 as the prelude
to appropriation, (fn. 474) was evidently frustrated. In
1425 a turn was exercised by William Burley, a
feoffee for settling the estates of the late lord of
the manor, Lord Burnell (d. 1420). (fn. 475) Others
exercised turns in 1673 and 1684. (fn. 476) In 1792 the
patronage reverted to the bishop of Worcester
as owner of the freehold of the manor, (fn. 477) and after
the manor had passed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners the advowson remained with the
bishop of Worcester until transferred to the
bishop of Birmingham on the creation of that
see in 1904. (fn. 478) From 1967 Rushbury was held in
plurality with the united living of Hope Bowdler
with Eaton-under-Heywood, the incumbent to
reside temporarily at Rushbury; the patron of
Rushbury had the third turn. (fn. 479) In 1971 the
incumbent became priest in charge of Cardington and the three benefices were held in
plurality from 1980, the patrons presenting
jointly. (fn. 480)

The rectory was worth £14 in 1291, a portion
of which, 13s. 4d., was due to St. Guthlac's
priory, Hereford; (fn. 481) the portion represented the
share of the rectorial tithes which the Lacys,
overlords of Rushbury, had given to the priory
c. 1100. (fn. 482) It was no longer paid in 1535 when the
rectory's net annual value was £19 15s. 4d. (fn. 483)

On the eve of tithe commutation moduses
were paid in lieu of hay and various small tithes;
smoke and garden penny were due, as was an
Easter offering of 6d. from each house. In the
whole parish except Gretton township those
payments, along with all the tithes, were commuted to £346 a year in 1842. (fn. 484) Gretton's tithes
were commuted in 1846: the rector of Rushbury
received £40 a year in respect of half of the corn
and grain tithes in the whole of the main part of
Gretton township (Judge Thomas D'Arcy and
his wife Elizabeth received £20 10s. in respect
of those in the other half) and in respect of all
the corn and grain tithes in the whole of the
Gilberries and Wall under Heywood detachments of the township and all other tithes in the
Rushbury part of the whole township. (fn. 485) The
living was then worth c. £449. (fn. 486) The rectory was
well endowed with glebe, c. 54 a. with rights of
common in 1580, (fn. 487) 50 a. in 1841, (fn. 488) and 70 a. in
1856 and later. (fn. 489) About 1920 c. 55 a. were sold. (fn. 490)

In 1589 the rectory included farm buildings
and a pigeon house. (fn. 491) The house, just south-west
of the church, was described in 1793 as very
handsome. (fn. 492) Soon after he became rector in 1818
M. Y. Starkie spent much on the house and
grounds, but the archdeacon thought he had
destroyed the house's 'respectability' by whitewashing good brickwork. (fn. 493) In 1852 the house,
parts of which may be c. 1700, was remodelled
and extended in the Elizabethan style to designs
by W. J. Donthorn. (fn. 494) It presents a symmetrical
facade with a projecting central entrance bay
and flanking canted bays rising through two
storeys. The farm buildings were also remodelled. In 1968 the parsonage was sold
with 4 a. Later a dairy wing was demolished. (fn. 495)

In the 13th and 14th centuries two rectors, one
a pluralist and both probably kinsmen of lords
of the manor, were licensed to be absent
fosrtudy. (fn. 496) Many medieval rectors' names suggest that they were Shropshire men. (fn. 497) John
Redhode (1461-c. 1465) may have studied at
Oxford. (fn. 498) Adam Littleton, instituted in 1578, (fn. 499)
and most of his successors were university
men. (fn. 500) At times in the earlier 17th century the
rectory seems to have been held in plurality with
Easthope. (fn. 501) In the later 17th and earlier 18th
century the Cressetts sometimes presented kinsmen or family connexions, some of whom held
other family livings in plurality. (fn. 502) Edward
Cressett, rector in the 1720s (when he succeeded
to his brother's estates), was bishop of Llandaff
1749-55. Some rectors employed curates, one of
whom, Henry Tilley, succeeded to the rectory
in 1690. (fn. 503)

Before the Reformation a light in the church
was endowed from property in Hope Bowdler. (fn. 504)
In 1716 there were two Sunday services, one
with a sermon, and communion six times a
year. (fn. 505) In the mid 18th century offerings at the
sacrament (called charity money from c. 1745)
were given to the poor. (fn. 506)

The longest-serving rector was William
Pemberton, 1761-1813. (fn. 507) He resided but occasionally employed a curate. By 1793 he was
'decayed' in mind and irregular in doing his
duty, but he enjoyed lucid periods and was later
described as pious, the owner of a 1,000-volume
library, and one who delighted in showing his
church to visitors. (fn. 508)

Pemberton's successors to 1851 were pluralists
and employed curates. The rector 1814-c. 1818
probably lived in Hereford. (fn. 509) M. Y. Starkie, 1818-
51, was also perpetual curate of Over Darwen
(Lancs.) 1815-51. (fn. 510) Although in 1820 he had recently refurbished the parsonage and presumably
resided, by 1851 he lived in Church Stretton. (fn. 511) He
tried to improve services and their frequency: in
1836 the singers were paid (an experiment lasting
only a year), and by 1849 communion was celebrated about eight times a year; (fn. 512) the congregation
was then 150 in summer but could fall to 25 in
winter because of bad weather and poor roads. (fn. 513) F.
H. Hotham, rector 1851-87, restored both rectory
and church in the 1850s. (fn. 514)

The church of ST. PETER, so known by c.
1740, (fn. 515) is of rubble with freestone dressings. It
comprises an undivided chancel and nave,
south porch, south vestry, and west tower. The
oldest fabric, herring-bone work, possibly
Saxon, occurs in the lowest courses of the
western ends of the north and south nave
walls. Inserted through that fabric in the north
wall is a tall narrow doorway, probably 12thcentury, with a plain tympanum. About 1200
a new chancel, as long as the nave, was added
and a tower of almost the same width; a south
doorway was inserted. The chancel is defined
by an external chamfer and a sill-level string
course which appears both internally and externally. It was entered by a central south
door, later blocked, and was lit by a triple
lancet east window. There were probably once
four lancets to both north and south.

Evidence remains of alterations between the
13th century and the 19th. In the chancel the
string course is broken internally twice on both
the north and south walls; the western break may
have been for a chancel screen, the eastern for a
wooden screen or partition defining a small
sacristy or processional path. (fn. 516) Alternatively
they may mark the ends of facing pews. A 'Lady
chancel' mentioned in 1676 (fn. 517) may have been a
part of the nave once occupied by a guild altar.
In 1789 a two-light window, probably late medieval, lit the west end of the south side of the
chancel. (fn. 518) It probably replaced a lancet. The
tower was crenellated, perhaps in the 15th century; pinnacles at the four corners were eroded
by 1789. (fn. 519) Also 15th-century was the south
porch, later much restored. Nave and chancel
roofs are late medieval but were embellished in
17th-century style during the 19th century.

In 1793 the church contained some 'modern'
windows, all considered by the archdeacon 'unsuitable in form and some whimsical': (fn. 520) two
such, east and west of the south door, were tall,
round-headed, and of two lights. (fn. 521) Seats in
1793 (fn. 522) comprised 29 'irregular' pews in the nave,
and two in the chancel. (fn. 523) Under the belfry a table
on a raised platform and surrounded by benches
served as a sort of gallery.

The church was restored in 1855-6, (fn. 524) the cost
being met by subscriptions, a rate, and a grant
from the Hereford Diocesan Church Building
Society. The rector's plans were executed by
William Hill of Smethcott, also responsible for
carving and installing all the new woodwork.
The main work comprised building a south
vestry (accessible through the unblocked priest's
door) and a new south porch, replacing all
windows later than c. 1200 with ones in 13thcentury style, reopening the north doorway,
rebuilding the top stage of the tower, adding
seven large buttresses, and lowering the ground
around the church. Internally the roof was restored, new benches (incorporating 17th- and
18th-century panelling, some carved with pew
owners' names or initials) (fn. 525) installed, and new
altar rails, pulpit, reading desk, oak chancel arch,
and reredos introduced. The church was retiled,
with Minton tiles in the chancel. New stained
glass in the east window was by Horwood Bros.
of Mells (Som.). In 1890 glass by John Hardman
& Co. was put in two windows. (fn. 526)

Later changes were minor. A screen was
introduced into the tower arch in 1912, and in
1932 the chancel was refloored in marble and the
pulpit, altar rails, and choir stalls were slightly
altered. (fn. 527)

The tub font is Norman, its elaborate cover
19th-century. The 17th-century chest was bought
in 1950. Painted heraldic shields attached to the
chancel roof were made in 1985, being copies of
ones there in 1840 but lost by 1955. (fn. 528)

The plate includes a chalice of 1619 with contemporary cover, a paten of 1717, flagon of 1810,
and chalice and paten of 1869. (fn. 529) There were three
bells in 1549. A new bell frame was installed in
1621, and in the 18th century five bells by the
Rudhalls were hung. A new frame was installed in
1978-9 and a sixth bell added in 1980. (fn. 530)

The registers begin in 1538, but there are
several gaps in the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 531)

NONCONFORMITY.

At Wilderhope a possible hiding place and motifs in the plastered
ceilings suggest that at least one of the Smalman
family may have been a Catholic recusant in the
late 16th century. (fn. 532) No dissent was noted in
1716, (fn. 533) but in 1724 Jeremiah Jordan's house at
the Gilberries was licensed for Baptists. The
religious verses of his wife Judith were published
posthumously. (fn. 534)

In 1836 Wesleyans built a chapel on the east
side of Roman Bank common. (fn. 535) In the 1840s
there were 20 or more members of the society,
but numbers fell in the 1850s and in the 1860s
there were only about seven. (fn. 536) The small stone
chapel, seating 100, (fn. 537) closed in 1928. (fn. 538)

Primitive Methodists met at East Wall in the
1830s and were served by a chapel built at Lakehouse (in Eaton-under-Heywood) in 1857-8. (fn. 539)

EDUCATION.

By will proved 1820 Dr. Benjamin Wainwright, son of Richard Wainwright of Upper
Stanway, left capital to build a parochial school
and teacher's house and endowed a master, a
sewing mistress, and a Sunday school master.
The master was to teach nine poor children from
Rushbury parish and three from Eaton-underHeywood parish, and the Sunday school master
was to teach children from Rushbury and adjoining parishes. In 1821 there was a teacher's
house and schoolroom on a piece of rented glebe;
a sewing mistress was paid £5 a year, a Sunday
school teacher £5, and the master had £20 for
teaching day and Sunday schools; (fn. 541) he also took
private pupils. (fn. 542) In 1869-70 the school had 76
pupils, 12 (fn. 543) of whom were taught free. Its endowment then yielded £15 8s. 9d. and the school
was also supported by £5 a year from Betton's
charity, voluntary contributions, and fees that
varied according to parents' means. The rector
met deficits. (fn. 544) The school trustees' funds were
increased by legacies of William Jones (d. 1870)
and F. H. Hotham (d. 1887), rector. (fn. 545)

In 1873 the school was enlarged to accommodate 113, later reduced to 92. The building was
again improved in 1889 (fn. 546) and 1911 but had no
separate infant room before 1930. (fn. 547) In the 1890s
and perhaps later F. W. Webb, of Upper Stanway, gave annual treats; the rector gave prizes
and provided clothes and boots for poor pupils. (fn. 548)
In 1908 and 1912-13 teachers organized train
excursions to places as far away as Liverpool and
Llandudno. (fn. 549) Even for a rural school attendance
was exceptionally irregular until the 1920s, averaging 55 in 1885, 75 in 1905, and 93 in 1913; (fn. 550)
overcrowding caused children under five to be
excluded in 1913. (fn. 551) In 1915 almost all pupils over
12 had left for work. (fn. 552)

The county council rented the school (designated C.E. by 1904) from the Wainwright Trust
(which continued to make annual grants to it) and
by 1956 also the parish reading room. (fn. 553) Pupils from
the closed Eaton-under-Heywood C.E. school were
admitted in 1927; the roll was 60 in 1925 but 96 in
1929. (fn. 554) Gardening was taught from 1918 and seniors
attended Church Stretton domestic science and
woodwork centres from 1936. (fn. 555) The school became
controlled in 1947, (fn. 556) and seniors went to Church
Stretton Modern school in 1948. (fn. 557) The roll was 53
in 1950, 57 in 1973, and 29 in 1981. (fn. 558) A demountable
classroom, with 30 places, was erected in 1968, and
16 pupils from the closed Cardington C.E. (Aided)
Primary school were admitted in 1982. (fn. 559) Closure,
scheduled for 1983, (fn. 560) was averted and the roll was
46 in 1989. (fn. 561)

County council evening classes in horticulture, stock management, ambulance work, and
hygiene, between 1892 and 1902, and in dressmaking in 1912-13, were well attended. (fn. 562)

Lutwyche Hall housed a convent boarding
school (evacuated from Brighton) during the
Second World War and Wenlock Edge Boys'
Boarding school 1948-66, with c. 120 boys (including day boys) in 1959. (fn. 563)

CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.

In 1601 Edward Lutwyche gave a 40s. rent charge for
weekly bread and annual Good Friday cash doles
to six parishioners nominated for life. (fn. 564)

Thomas Smalman (d. 1693) left 40s. to the
poor of the parish, (fn. 565) and several small sums of
money were employed c. 1710, along with c. £60
left by a Mr. Leighton and others, to buy land. (fn. 566)
That was presumably the parish land noted in
1743, which then produced £2 2s. a year. (fn. 567) In
1830 the c. 8 a. of poor's land at Wall Bank was
mostly let, the rent providing coals, but paupers
occupied two pairs of cottages there rent-free. (fn. 568)
After the formation of the poor-law union in
1836 the cottages were not so used. (fn. 569) About 1920
the land was sold and the proceeds invested. (fn. 570)

About 1800 Martha Baker left the interest on
£20 for bread doles; soon after her death the
capital was used to repair a house (used as a
poorhouse) on the poor's land and by 1830 £1 a
year from the poor rate was spent on the bread
doles. (fn. 572) Payment seems to have ceased by 1900. (fn. 573)

By will proved 1820 Dr. Wainwright, besides
his bequest for a school, (fn. 574) left money to build
and endow almshouses for two widows on the
same plot as the school. In the 19th century the
widows each received £2 and coals. (fn. 575) The tworoomed almshouses were last occupied c. 1875. (fn. 576)
Under a Scheme of 1893 (fn. 577) the rector rented them
as a parish reading room for 5s. a year. (fn. 578) By 1942
the eleemosynary part of Wainwright's charity
yielded £9 9s. 8d. including the reading room
rent; it was given partly to two widows and
partly in money gifts to 18 other recipients. (fn. 579)

By the 1890s the annual income of the surviving charities, Lutwyche's, Tipton's, and
Wainwright's, and probably of the poor's land,
amounted to £34 and was spent on bread, coals,
and clothing. (fn. 580) In 1975 those four charities were
united as the Rushbury charity, (fn. 581) with an annual
income of £54. (fn. 582)

200. New Ho. fm. (Shipton) deeds, abstr. of title (1909) of
trustees of Mr. and Mrs. John Hippisley's marr. settlement.
Thanks are due to Mr. and Mrs. B. D. Williams, New Ho., for
a sight of these deeds.